Blog

Kicker Studio's Jennifer Bove on how to design enjoyment

· Michael Angeles

Jennifer Bove, principal at Kicker Studio, writes about the ways interaction designers can make design more about people and less about technology--designing behaviors that are defined from the point of view of humans, and designed to elicit emotion, make products and services more enjoyable and easier to use. Bove writes about the subtle things that can reference human connection, whether it is the language presented in system messages, the logic behind system behaviors that reflects human thought and desire, or subtle cues and movement that feels organic

This is an excellent read that picks up the thread in Don Norman's Emotional Design, and Dave Malouf's recent writing about moving beyond function towards enjoyment.

http://creativity-online.com/?action=blog:article&newsId=136614&sectionName=on_design

The Life Cycle of a Wireframe

· Michael Angeles

Nick Finck's Puget Sound SIGCHI lecture on the Lifecycle of the Wireframe discusses Nick's IA process.

My overall strategy for IA is 3 step process; understanding the problem (note: not merely identifying the problem but really understanding it), find a solution (there may be more than one solution, but there is often only one right solution), and present the solution (a large part of your job as a IA is presenting your work so the client can understand the results).

http://www.nickfinck.com/blog/entry/the_life_cycle_of_a_wireframe/

Using Verbs As Nouns in User Interfaces

· Michael Angeles

There's an interesting discussion in UX Matters prompted by a question regarding the use of verbs as nouns. This wording used in an enterprise context is the example provided, "Click here to view your views." Confusing and awkward.

A dialogue follows with several designers, who seem to agree that understanding the language of the business and context, and using that in the given situation is the right approach. It's a matter of unearthing the terminology, whether through contextual inquiry and exercises like card sorting, and using what's appropriate and familiar in the context, so users can "View sales reports" or what have you rather than viewing [insert meaningless label here].

http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2009/05/using-verbs-as-nouns-in-user-interfaces-ux-roles-in-organizations.php